Northern Michigan Solar Powered CabinAlternative Energy Living at the 45th parallel
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First of all, welcome to our site! We've been around for several years and conduct all kinds of half baked DIY projects on our show, This Old Shack. Be sure to check out all of our half witted articles and pages. If you have questions, just Email us and we will do our best to confuse you beyond all belief.NAVIGATION Email or Contact us here
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We're going to build our own solar panels!Read the diary entry here. |
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Disaster planning should be part of every single household across America, strike that, the world. When disaster strikes, people die or lives are c80%hanged. In times of plenty, forego the Playstations and buy extra food. You can explain a lack of toys better than a lack of food to your children.
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In
1980 our military switched its entire food ration program over to the full
moisture MRE pouch system. These are the meals we tested on "This Old
Shack". |
Quite possibly the best preparedness site in the world.
There were several reasons for the switch:
Sprinkle of rain = power failure.
Giving a little back by not using so much.
Independent living.
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My generator updatedMarch 2007; The 2.2 kw generator is now nearly a year old and has several hundred hours on it. I run it once a week or so here at the house during the winter. This year, I'm going to have a video of how to install a generator at a cabin! June 17, 2006 Well, my little 1000 watt generator blew out it's spark coil and I can't find a replacement. So, I bought a new one. This one has a 4 cycle engine, EPA/C.A.R.B certified. I only have one photo of it, see below. I'll be testing this one next week, so check back. Read more about it in my diary. The need for a generator is something more and more people realize. From hurricanes to ice storms to alternative energy setups, electricity is one of the basic needs for both convenience and survival. We need to keep our foods cool, provide heat (some gas water heaters won't even run without electricity!) and hot water.
My new generator is produced in China (of course) by the JD engine company. This company was started in 1945 and produces over 1,000,000 engines a year that are sold in North America, Japan, Vietnam and other countries. Most of their medium sized engines are based on Honda engines (everything right down to the cylinder sleeve is a direct replacement). Their history and prices are what sold me on their product line. You can visit their homepage here. POWER FACTORS AND HOW TO USE THEM! I'll make it real simple. My old generator had maximum output of 1000 watts. Maximum long term load rating was 850 watts. My battery charger was a 10 amp charger. Take the 10 amps, multiply the output voltage of it, 17 volts and you have 170 watts. The power factor of the unit was .2, so you take that 170 watts, divide it by the .2 and you have 850 watts. Add in the 40 watts I was also using in the cabin and bingo bango, I was using 890 watts of an available 850. The generator surged wildly, setting fire to a surge strip, burning out the charger and in the process burned itself out. Now I'm using my good old reliable manual charger through a good power conditioner. ● Email Me ● |
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How I testThere are several people on various newsgroups and discussion areas that waylay in uninformed or those just starting out in the off grid world of self power generation. This involves an almost religious belief in a phantom 6v golf cart true deep cycle battery that is superior in every way to any other battery in existence.
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